"(Actors trained by Zaslove) have certain qualities
in common too well defined to be a matter of chance:
a concentration, a flexibility, and an attack wholly out of the ordinary; a sheer vividness and presence that makes them seem 100% more there than anyone else on stage."-- Seattle Weekly

"Arne Zaslove is a laser focused on the heart, mind and soul of acting. Without him, I could never have accomplished the career achievements and benefits I have enjoyed. He has the power to transform, and those who work with him are rewarded."-- Marc SingerActor/Director/Writer

"Arne is a genius."-- Gerard Schwarz,Music Director, Seattle Symphony

"I've been extraordinarily lucky in my career. I've followed my vision unswervingly, and somehow
I've always been in the right place at the right time,
and found the most incredible teachers."

Carlo Mazzoni-Clementi

Jacques Lecoq

Arne Zaslove

A master teacher is something like the shaman in the rainforest: full of specific healing knowledge handed down from shamans of the past and gathered from long experience. When one of these wise men goes untapped, an entire forest is lost.

In the West, the tradition of wearing masks onstage has been neglected for several centuries. Often masks become works of art on the wall, rather than animating the spirit of the characters they are meant to embody. With the teaching of Jacques Lecoq and others, there has been a rediscovery of the tradition of the theatrical use of masks. Arne Zaslove has made a deep exploration, through his teaching and direction, of the power of the mask, the physical embodiment of character, and the commitment required of a performer to "support" a mask onstage.

As an undergraduate at Carnegie Mellon in the late '50s, Arne begins an apprenticeship with Carlo Mazzone-Clementi. ("You want to learn? Here - you carry the bags!") Carlo had arrived in the U.S. after working with Vittorio Gassman, and with Giorgio Strehler, Dario Fo and Franca Rame in the Piccolo Teatro of Milan, helping to inspire the renaissance of Italian theatre in the early 1950s. He worked with Etienne Decroux and Jacques Lecoq - and partnered Marcel Marceau in Marceau's first tour outside of Paris. With the support of Eric Bentley, Carlo arrived in the United States in 1958, introducing the tradition of Commedia dell' Arte and the masks of Amleto Sartori to this country. He later founded the school that was to become the Dell' Arte International School of Physical Theatre in Blue Lake, California. (Arne: "I carried Carlo's bags for 40 years, savoring the crumbs of wisdom that fell from the master's beard.")

As a Fulbright scholar, Zaslove became the first American to study at Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris. Toured with M. Lecoq to cultural centers around France and performed onstage with Jean-Louis Barrault at the Festival d'Orange in Avignon. Returned to America in 1965 and began to teach at New York University and National Theatre School of Canada, inspired by Lecoq's pedagogy incorporating movement, mask-work and improvisation.

As a Fulbright Senior Specialist, Arne has taught Commedia dell' Arte at the Iceland Academy of the Arts in Reykjavik, and been a guest artist at the Commedia School in Copenhagen, as well as the Dell' Arte School in Blue Lake, California, founded by Carlo Mazzone-Clementi.

With Greg Falls and Duncan Ross, started the Professional Actor Training Program at the University of Washington in 1967. Notable graduates, who benefited from Arne's background in masks, improvisation and European-influenced movement theatre, include: John Aylward, Lori Larsen, Marc Singer, Stuart Gillard (film director), Patrick Duffy, Johnnie Kaufmann, Michael Christensen (co-founder of Big Apple Circus), many founding members of Empty Space Theatre in Seattle, and countless working professionals across the U.S. and Canada.

As Artistic Director of the National Theatre School of Canada, Arne helped launch the careers of Deborah Kipp, Neil Munro, Wayne Specht, Dick Donat, Dixie Seatle, Jim Rankin, the company of Brew, and many more.

In ten years as Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia, deepened and codified his teaching into a comprehensive 3-year program incorporating neutral, emotion, expressive and commedia masks, a carefully thought-out sequence of improvisations and ensemble-building exercises, and his own observations of character change and PRISM, as embodied in theatrical scenarios.

Has taught and/or guest directed at New York University, Carnegie Mellon, UCLA, Dell' Arte School of Physical Theater (Blue Lake, CA), Southern Methodist University, SUNY Purchase, Commedia School (Copenhagen), Ohio State University, Brigham Young University, University of California (San Diego), University of New Mexico, Western Washington State University, University of Victoria, Simon Fraser University, and many more. These include the University of Washington Summer Dance Program and the Jarvis Conservatory Baroque Dance Workshop.

In ten years as Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia, deepened and codified his teaching into a comprehensive 3-year program incorporating neutral, emotion, expressive and commedia masks, a carefully thought-out sequence of improvisations and ensemble-building exercises, and his own observations of character change and PRISM, as embodied in theatrical scenarios.

Has taught and/or guest directed at New York University, Carnegie Mellon, UCLA, Dell' Arte School of Physical Theater (Blue Lake, CA), Southern Methodist University, SUNY Purchase, Commedia School (Copenhagen), Ohio State University, Brigham Young University, University of California (San Diego), University of New Mexico, Western Washington State University, University of Victoria, Simon Fraser University, and many more. These include the University of Washington Summer Dance Program and the Jarvis Conservatory Baroque Dance Workshop.

Master Classes and Intensives:

Movement

Mask

Improvisation

Clowning

Commedia dell' arte for the contemporary performer

Shakespeare

Physical theatre has always been the style and mandate of Zaslove's teaching and directing. Masks and movement are the tools with which the actor can reach into his own creative soul and bring forth extraordinary moments, energy, images, characters. The work helps ground the performer in a deeper understanding of the archetypes of characterization, and develops the performer's ability to use the body creatively in the physicalization of imaginative ideas. Moving from neutral to expressive to commedia masks, these sessions are largely non-verbal - so artists of any language or culture are eligible.

Performers will learn economy of movement, attaining the maximum result with minimum effort. There is opportunity to discover and develop one's own comic "mask" (or clown), and learn how to apply it in any style or "period." Directors can also learn how to use improvisation in rehearsal, how to find the valuable parts of an improvisation and help the actors extend and develop them.